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Your gamer kid could make skills pay off

We usually work to limit our kids’ screen time, but what if that time spent on video games could actually earn your teen a college scholarship?

It’s true: geeks (or are they nerds?) can get sports scholarships, too. In this case, e-sport scholarships.

E-sport is live video game competitions. According to ESPN, varsity collegiate e-sports began in 2014. At that time, Robert Morris University announced a scholarship-sponsored League of Legends team.

Today, there is a national governing body called the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). About 100 varsity programs participate the U.S. and Canada, according to The New York Times. The E-sports executive director said NACE helped to facilitate $16 million in scholarships during the previous two years.

According to The Washington Post, there’s even talk of adding e-sports as a demonstration sport in the 2024 Olympics.

There’s also a pro circuit, where players compete in front of hundreds or thousands of fans. Pro games are broadcast on video channels, including YouTube Gaming, Twitch, and also televised on ESPN and DisneyXD.

Professional gamers can compete for multi-million dollar prizes. Conservative estimates project the global e-sports market to be a $1.5 billion industry by 2020.